the air

So I sat down with my dad to review our telecommunications bill. Currently, my family uses Comcast for cable television, high-speed internet, and home phone service. So let’s break down the costs of this venture:

• $68 for cable television
• $43 for high speed internet
• $50 for phone service
• Grand Total: $161 + tax per month

In my opinion, that is a ridiculous amount to pay. So my father and I started hunting for better deals through the piles of junk mail that we have. After searching for a few minutes, we came up with this new idea:

• $40 for unlimited local and long distance within the US through AT&T
• $25 for high speed internet
• $60 for satellite television
• Grand Total: $125 + tax per month

Roughly speaking, we can expect to save about $35 before taxes. Assuming the taxes are similar, we’ll still come out on top and the best part is that a switch requires no commitment of any kind. The problem I have with Comcast is the fact that they do not offer the best price to me at any time. Unless I threaten to cancel, they force me to pay higher fees. With the prospective switch, I’m guaranteed those rates as long as I remain a customer and do not change plans.

If you are familiar with Comcast, you may recall the $33 per month rate for different services. This means, you can get high speed internet, digital cable, and digital phone service for $99 per month or $33 per month per service. The catch is that you must have all three services for that rate, otherwise you are out of luck. In addition, their phone service is VOIP, which limits your ability to use the 911 service. Although Comcast does say that it is not an issue, I can’t help but look at the fact that if my cable modem dies, I have no phone. Additionally, if my power goes out, I have no land line. So what about my cell phone? True, I can use my cell phone, but I still want a land line that I can rely on telemarketers to call. Besides, cell phones aren’t cheap once you go over your minutes.

I encourage all of you to review your bills and shop around to see whether or not you can reduce your bill. I know that if I threaten to cancel my services with Comcast, they will offer me reduced rates for a certain period of time. However, that will put me right back to where I am right now after that time has elapsed. Now if they were to offer me those rates permanently, I may reconsider, but I don’t think that is going to happen. You’d be surprised to know how many people blindly pay their bills without even taking a quick ten minutes to learn whether they are receiving a bargain or getting shafted.

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